The Concept of Entrepreneurial Orientation

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) — overall strategic posture toward entrepreneurship — is emerging as a predominant concept in management science. As knowledge in the area of EO has expanded, researchers have become interested in issues related to the evolution, potential contributions, and future trajectory of EO research. The purpose of this essay is to take stock of where EO scholarship has come so far, identify interesting gaps for the future, and encourage extending the knowledge frontier in this area. In order to do so, we acknowledge key developmental milestones in EO studies, attempt to make sense of the extant EO literature and highlight possible avenues for further work, and offer specific suggestions for exploring areas where EO research has not gone before. We hope our essay will show that EO research has made considerable strides over its life course as well as point to productive directions for the EO concept going forward.